Today is the day! the AAD 2012 unveiling!

Hello Everyone! Today is a grand and glorious day as today is the day we unveil the new Authors After Dark 2012 website, forum and twitter!

so first... If you haven't yet... Start following @aadconvention on twitter! its out AAD informational twitter that will be giving updates for this years event, and hints about next years!

Second... Join AAD's new Fan Forum! We will be taking the Yahoo groups out of the equation for 2012, because so many will not join one and don't seem to get all the information they need so a forum is a one stop shop for everything, including interaction with authors and attendees!


Last but not least... Authors After Dark have a new website from Now on, and it will start with the 2012 year for our new incorporation! The company site will be online soon, but for the convention... may I present the AUTHORS AFTER DARK 2012 WEBSITE! I know you guys have all been waiting to see it... and I'm so excited we are able to show you now!

ooh and an added bonus... our fantastic and amazing Master of Ceremonies for 2012, Ms. Joey W. Hill, will be blogging here today! That's right shes got some stuff she wants to tell you guys that will get you all excited! So? Who cant wait?????

Why AAD?

For the last few years, my travel and appearances schedule has been pretty heavy. I'm away from home about three months of the year altogether. Because I'm in California and most events tend to take place on the other side of the country, I've had to be careful not to live half the year in a plane. So what made Authors After Dark one of my must-attend conventions? Lemme tell you. :)

I wasn't able to attend Authors After Dark the first year I was invited, but I did get it worked out last year and I'm so glad I did! I can really gush about this event and since that's the purpose of this blog post, I will.

* Personally, I'm going because there were so many opportunities to sit down with other readers and talk about books and how much fun we were having. Every meal found me at a new table, with new table-mates. I talked with new readers in the hallways, at breakfast, in the elevator... everywhere. Because of the intimacy of the event, it was so much easier to connect with others than I've experienced elsewhere.

But overall, here are the some of the things that really impressed me about AAD:

1) I have no idea how Stella pulls it off, but AAD was the best coordinated event of this size that I've attended. It was very much like one of the larger reader conventions on a smaller, far more intimate scale. Basically, all the benefits and far less of the detriments.

2) There were a TON of books there. I came home with more books from AAD than I did any other convention last year.

3) The food was really good. No rubber chicken or congealed WTF-is-that? stuff anywhere. From the rolls to dessert, I was impressed with the quality and quantity of the food.

4) The presentation was stunning. From the banners in the hallways to the beautiful themed table centerpieces, it seemed like every small detail had been carefully considered.

5) There were authors everywhere. I met so many new-to-me authors because of AAD, and I was able to spend time with them while they were relaxed and having fun.

I'm really looking forward to AAD this year, and I already have AAD-2012 on my schedule. It's a really wonderful time. I look forward to seeing YOU there! :)

Sylvia Day
www.sylviaday.com

Twitter: @sylday
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorSylviaDay
Goodreads: Sylvia Day

Authors After Dark Share the Love

Hi Everyone! I’m Susan Hanniford Crowley author of the Vampires in Manhattan series about vampires, shapeshifters, and rare supernaturals. I write steampunk and mythos romance as well.

What do I love most about the Authors After Dark Convention? It’s the ability to share the love. Of all the events, I love the authors’ raffle baskets most. All the money raised goes to an animal rescue. My adorable Buffy and Bella came from a cat rescue, and I have to tell you those volunteers work tirelessly to give those sweet creatures more than just food and water. So when the time comes for buying raffle tickets, think of the homeless cats and dogs and buy! Buy! Buy! Share the love with animals that really need it. My basket will be especially cozy and romantic this year.

Last year I went to my first Authors After Dark Convention. It was the most outrageous fun I’ve ever had at a convention. I love that it’s dedicated to the enjoyment of readers. There’s an intimacy to the panels, workshops, parties, and other events that I’ve never seen anywhere else. It’s a bit like joining a village for a festival. Everyone gets to know everyone else and have a great time together.

I love all the freebies at my plate at each meal. I love meeting new people and having fun on the panels. Learning new things at the workshops. The parties are amazing. This year I am especially looking forward to the Mythos and Steampunk balls. The vendors rock. A friend of mine wants to cheek out the tattoo artist wearing the kilt. He rocks too. LOL There will be unclassifiable events of fun. Ah, the mystery. I can't tell you everything where would be the fun in that. I want to try to bellydancing. I’ve heard you can get thighs of steel.

This Authors After Dark is special to me because most of the Nights of Passion blog crew will be there with me. C. Margery Kempe, Cara North, and a.c. Mason will be there. OUTRAGEOUS FUN! Mason and I are two of the hosts for a Chocolate Party. YUM! Find out more about our passionate crew at http://nightsofpassion.wordpress.com/

I’m planning a lot of impromptu giveaways. I’ll be on panels and at the booksignings too. Be sure to ask me about Vampires, and I’ll give you a little gift until they run out. I’m ecstatic about Authors After Dark, and I’m sure you are too. I love talking about writing and reading---vampires, steampunk, and mythos romance.

To find out more me and my books, visit Nights of Passion blog or my website http://susanhannifordcrowley.com/. Twitter me at http://www.twitter.com/SHCrowley
Share the love on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/people/Susan-Hanniford-Crowley/629298868

See you there! Absolutely say hi!

The Draws of AAD

Over the past few years, I’ve attending a variety of writers’ conventions, from Detroit’s ConFusion all the way to WorldCon. It’s given me a taste of a variety of sizes and styles of cons. When Authors After Dark came on my radar, I will admit the size made me a little nervous. I can be shy and sometimes prefer to lose myself in crowds. Plus, I knew I’d only be able to attend two conventions this year since there weren’t any local ones that really hit my radar.

Basically, I had to choose really carefully.

However, I do love connecting with readers, and because of the size limits, attending as a featured author was a huge opportunity. Too huge to pass up. Plus, I’m always on the lookout for a new convention to fall in love with and I haven’t been to Philadelphia since I was a kid. Then I found out that both Nat and Pam from Wicked Lil Pixie were going to be there (along with several other book bloggers I adore), and I was sold.

I’m on three panels, which I’m very geeked about. Though I will admit to being a bit nervous about the erotica panel. I’ve made jokes about why, but they were just that. The reality is I’m just not a morning person, and considering I know some of the people on the panel with me, I have a feeling much fun may be had at my expense. It’s okay though—laughter is always a good icebreaker.

Then there are the parties and the outings. As excited as I am for all of that though, I’m mostly excited about meeting some people I’ve only had the opportunity to talk to online and others I haven’t ever talked to before. I hope to see you there, and if you attend the erotica panel…please pass the sleepy chick a red bull or something.

Seleste deLaney (aka Julie Particka)

www.selestedelaney.com

www.julieparticka.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/SelestedeLaney

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001203081398

Staying Up Past Our Bedtime - Why We're Attending AAD

Hi, I'm Reesa. I write space opera/sci fi romance with my partner, Michelle Moore.

We wanted to attend Authors After Dark 2010, but we just couldn't get it together in time to make the registration cut off. At the time, we would have been attending as readers, and we were looking forward to meeting authors, bloggers, and fellow fans.

This year, we're attending as authors, and we couldn't be happier to join the ranks of the other creative people who are dedicated to making Authors After Dark a great experience for readers.

AAD won't be our first con. That will fall to Balticon 45, our local science fiction and fantasy convention, but AAD follows it up in a way that's uniquely appropriate for our books. We write science fiction romance (the Ylendrian Empire series, to be exact), and it's really important to us that both aspects of the story are given the same amount of care. It makes it great that we can attend a sci fi con and subversively add a little romance to the panels, and then turn around and get people's heads in the stars at a romance con.

Our main decision was made for us in the Authors After Dark tagline- for us, it's all about the readers, and we can't wait to hang out with everyone in Philadelphia!

First Time at AAD by Nancy Holzner

I'm the author of the Deadtown urban fantasy series, and this will be my first Authors After Dark. I'm very excited to be included!

I can't say exactly when AAD first crossed my radar. I remember some of the bloggers and authors I follow on Twitter talking about what a great time they were having last year. I saw references to it on some blogs I frequent. And when I went to Albacon in Albany, NY last October, people were still buzzing about it there.

What I heard was that Authors After Dark was a reader-centered conference that had great panels, great parties, and tons of opportunities to talk with readers, bloggers, and other authors. This sounded exactly like the kind of conference I was looking for. I love going to science fiction and fantasy conventions, but so often what I'm there for—the chance to talk about books and writing—is one track out of many. It's easy to get lost. AAD focuses on readers, and I can't wait to get there and talk books with people.

I work at home (I'm a freelance writer and editor), and sometimes I really NEED to trade my work PJs for some real clothes and get out of the house. Heading off for a weekend of socializing and talking shop with people who love the same kinds of stories that I do—that's guaranteed to get me to comb my hair and pack a suitcase. I'm looking forward to being on and attending panels, hosting a hospitality breakfast with other UF authors, being at the book signing, and checking out the balls. Most of all, I think, I'm looking forward to the casual conversations that an event like this allows—a chance meeting in an elevator, a discussion that begins in a panel discussion and then continues in the hall, as dinnertime conversation where you discover a common interest with someone who was a stranger half an hour before.

I've loved reading the posts this month to see why people are going to AAD. If you haven't chimed in yet, why are you going? If you've been before, what's your best memory? Or if this will be your first AAD, what are you most looking forward to?

See you there!

Nancy Holzner

http://nancyholzner.wordpress.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nancy-Holzner/163746834500?ref=ts

Twitter: http://twitter.com/NancyHolzner

What I Love About AAD by Jess Haines

Authors After Dark was the very first author convention I ever attended. Actually, it’s the only author convention I’ve ever attended. Not knocking the other conventions out there, but many of the others I researched were either too small and expensive, or too big and therefore too likely to lose me in the shuffle. Having some experience with overwhelming cons—and, in my experience thus far, nothing beats Anime Expo—I wanted to have a chance to meet people instead of be pushed around by the tide.

All that said, Authors After Dark was a blast! I had a ridiculous amount of fun last year meeting crazy/funny bloggers like JoJo (link: http://jojosbookcorner.blogspot.com/), Larissa (link: http://www.larissaslife.com/), Joy (link: http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/), Ali (link: http://simplyali.blogspot.com/), etc. I met the lovely Leanna Renee Hieber, Jacquelyn Frank, Stella Price, KT Grant, and many other authors—too numerous to mention. Many of these people have become good friends and stayed in touch since then. My fancy-schmancy business cards and new series logo came courtesy of Robin (link: www.rldprint.com), who gave me her card at AAD. I took a truckload of books home with me.

We did fun things like charity raffles (which are always near and dear to my heart), I both sat on and attended interesting panels on everything from writing sexy shifters to interracial romance, got to drool over some amazing costumes at the ball, and I had loads of fun dancing like a dork until the wee hours on Saturday night! The atmosphere was relaxed and all about having a good time. What isn’t to love?

The best part of going to Authors After Dark was getting to meet my fans. Getting to know readers, not bloggers or authors (though they are also awesome, and often started out as readers), always makes my day.

I’m talking about the people who came because they love our books, they love us, and they wanted to have a chance to rub elbows with their favorite authors. It was an amazing opportunity to get to know people I might otherwise never have met. Twitter and Facebook and email are great ways of contacting and staying in touch with fans, but it makes all the difference in the world when you get to shake their hands, give them a hug, or swap naughty stories over dessert. Where else will you get to pop by the hotel bar at any hour of the day and not have to worry about imposing if you stop by to say hello to one of your fellow attendees—no matter their occupation?

I’m looking forward to more of the same in the coming year. Come say hi to me—I promise I don’t bite—and get ready to have a great time! Panels, parties, and swag await!

Jess Haines

http://www.jesshaines.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Jess_Haines

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jess-Haines-HW-Investigations/199575306328?ref=search&sid=100000426805820.1600836246..1

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/jesshaines